Transference #2

The Dragon’s Curse by Bethany Wiggins

Publication Date: February 6, 2018 (US) Crown Books

Summary from Goodreads:

Six months ago, Princess Sorrowlynn stood beside Prince Golmarr to defeat the glass dragon. But when the prince almost killed her after inheriting the dragon’s curse of hatred, he went into hiding to keep Sorrow safe . . . from himself.

Now the princess has been training to become a great warrior, with the hope of finding Golmarr. But her search proves difficult when she discovers she has been wed to the prince of an enemy kingdom. Desperate to end her forced marriage and be reunited with her true love, Sorrow must find a way to escape her captor husband. But there’s just one more dangerous obstacle in her way. A two-headed dragon is hunting her and will stop at nothing until she is dead. 

Can Sorrow summon the courage to wield the only sword that can defeat the beast and save her world from the destruction of the dragon’s curse?

This is the second book in a planned trilogy.  The first book, The Dragon’s Price, was one of my top reads last year.  While I did enjoy this sequel, it wasn’t quite as good as the first one.  It was a little slow in parts and the romance between Sorrow and Golmarr, is pretty well established but having some predictable issues.  I am still enjoying the concept of the dragon’s “treasures” and how that impacts the characters and the story.  We get more information about these “treasures” and the dragon’s history in this book which was what made this book very interesting.  There are some predictable storylines, but still an overall enjoyable read.

Sorrowlynn is still our sole point of view and still a strong female character, even though she gives into men maybe a bit too often.  By this I mean she allows herself to be kidnapped by Prince Treyose, and taken forcibly back to his kingdom.  Granted she was under the influence of a powerful poison at the time, but she could have tried a little harder to get away.  She does show some strong fighting skills and is willing to go into danger to save others from death.  She also carries a huge burden of the dragon’s treasure which would not be easy for anyone.

Golmarr’s character is a bit better in this book.  I found him to be a little less self centered and controlling like he was in the first book.  He is also struggling with the dragon’s treasure he inherited and tries to keep that under control.  He is the cause of most of the strain in their relationship, but I get it why he feels the way he does.

They do a bit more traveling in this book and we get to see more of the world that they live in.  Each kingdom is different and unique and interesting in their customs and the people we meet their.  I didn’t like Treyose when we first meet him, but once we see how his kingdom influenced his behavior, I kind of started to like him.  He actually was quite the gentleman by the end of their time with him. 

The dragon’s play a large role in this book, mostly through learning about their history and why they are the way they are.  This history of the dragon’s is unique and very fascinating to me.  I don’t think we are done with the history lesson though.  I hope there is more about them and their lives in the next book.  There is a two headed dragon in this book whose history was particularly interesting. 

This was a pretty good sequel to the first book.  Even though it was somewhat predictable, the characters and the dragons make up for that.  The setting is also a ninteresting part of the overall story.  I am looking forward to finale next year to see how it is all wrapped up.